Technics EAH-AZ100: Specs, Price, Pros & Cons
Technics built the EAH-AZ100 around a driver idea from its EAH-TZ700, a wired in-ear monitor. The 10 mm Magnetic Fluid Driver pairs an aluminum diaphragm with an ultra-thin free-edge structure, and Technics credits it with lower distortion and deeper, more accurate bass. The earbuds meet the Japan Audio Society's Hi-Res Audio standard, though the manual ties hi-res wireless playback to LDAC at 990 kbps, selected in the app's sound quality mode.
The earbuds pair with three devices at once, so a phone, a laptop and a tablet can all stay connected, and they switch between them without pairing again. Technics attaches a footnote to it: with three devices connected, LDAC is unavailable. On calls, a Voice Focus AI chip works with six microphones and, Technics says, cleans up the caller's voice coming in as well as yours going out.
Spatial audio is Dolby Atmos with Dolby Head Tracking. LE Audio, with Auracast broadcast sharing, sits behind a setting called Prioritize LE Audio, and the manual lists what switching it on costs. Spatial audio and the voice assistant turn off, LDAC cannot be used, and some calling apps may not work over the connection.
Its shell is smaller and lighter than the EAH-AZ80's, shaped to sit in the bowl of the ear, and the box holds five sizes of a new three-layer ear tip. The app runs a short test that tells you which size gives the noise canceling the best seal, then asks you to swap tips until it confirms one. The case charges on any Qi pad, and Google Fast Pair connects it to an Android phone when you hold the two close together.
Category strengths
Where the Technics EAH-AZ100 beats the median
- Has Hi-Res audio ?
- A much lighter build ?5.9 g vs 213.5 g (median)
- Much more treble extension ?40,000 Hz vs 22,000 Hz (median)
- Has adaptive ANC ?
- Has touch controls ?
- Has wireless charging case ?
- More Bluetooth codecs ?
Where the Technics EAH-AZ100 trails the median
- Much smaller audio drivers ?10 mm vs 38 mm (median)
- Much shorter battery life with ANC on ?10 h vs 20 h (median)
- Shallower bass ?20 Hz vs 15 Hz (median)
- No wired connection option ?
- Slightly shorter battery life from the earbuds ?12 h vs 13 h (median)
- Slightly shorter total battery life with the case ?29 h vs 30 h (median)
How this VS Score was computed
Score 68: each known spec is measured against the median of all headphones (97 products), then weighted. 91% of the scoreable weight could be used. See how we score
| Specification | This product | Cohort median | Score weight | Points moved |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active noise cancellation | Yes | 61% of the class have it | 2 | +100.0 |
| Driver size | 10 | 38 | 2 | −74.0 |
| Spatial audio | Yes | 55% of the class have it | 1 | +50.0 |
| Hi-Res audio | Yes | 43% of the class have it | 1 | +50.0 |
| Adaptive ANC | Yes | 50% of the class have it | 1 | +50.0 |
| Ambient sound mode | Yes | 67% of the class have it | 1 | +50.0 |
| Weight | 5.9 | 213.5 | 1 | +50.0 |
| Highest frequency | 40,000 | 22,000 | 1 | +41.0 |
| Customisable EQ app | Yes | 62% of the class have it | 0.5 | +25.0 |
| Voice assistant | Yes | 74% of the class have it | 0.5 | +25.0 |
| Touch controls | Yes | 38% of the class have it | 0.5 | +25.0 |
| In-ear detection | Yes | 53% of the class have it | 0.5 | +25.0 |
| Find my device | Yes | 53% of the class have it | 0.5 | +25.0 |
| Battery life (ANC on) | 10 | 20 | 1 | −25.0 |
| Wireless charging case | Yes | 28% of the class have it | 0.5 | +25.0 |
| Multipoint pairing | Yes | 58% of the class have it | 0.5 | +25.0 |
| Type | In-ear | Over-ear | 0.5 | −24.0 |
| Bluetooth codecs | 4 | 3 | 1 | +17.0 |
| USB-C charging | Yes | 73% of the class have it | 0.3 | +15.0 |
| Wired connection option | No | 62% of the class have it | 0.3 | −14.4 |
| Foldable | No | 35% of the class have it | 0.3 | −14.4 |
| Lowest frequency | 20 | 15 | 1 | −12.0 |
| Battery life (earbuds) | 12 | 13 | 2 | −8.0 |
| Battery life (with case) | 29 | 30 | 1.5 | −3.0 |
| Bluetooth version | 5.3 | 5.3 | 1 | +0.0 |
| Microphones | 6 | 6 | 0.5 | +0.0 |
Not scored: Impedance (unknown: not scored); Passive noise reduction (unknown: not scored); Fast charging (standard for the class (80% have it)); Low-latency mode (unknown: not scored).
Editor’s note
Technics rates the earbuds at 10 hours with noise canceling on, and that is an AAC figure. The manual's LDAC table gives 7 hours, and the total with the case falls from 28 to 18. That still covers a working day of listening, but LDAC, the main reason to pick these over AirPods on an Android phone, is also what drains them fastest. A 15-minute charge buys about 90 minutes of playback, which takes the sting out of an empty bud before a meeting.
The IPX4 rating covers the earbuds and not the case, and Technics says so in a footnote. Rain on a run is within the rating. A charging case left in a damp gym bag is not.
Find headphones in the app plays a sound through the earbuds only when they are switched on, so the manual asks you to set auto power off to Always on in advance. Its location view works without that step and shows where the earbuds last connected to your phone, which is the more useful half when a bud falls out of a coat pocket on the way home.
Its closest rivals at this level are Sony's WF-1000XM6 and Apple's AirPods Pro 3. I'd shortlist it first for an Android listener whose day runs across a phone, a laptop and a tablet. On an iPhone, which streams AAC rather than LDAC, the argument for it narrows to the tuning and the three-device pairing.
Specifications
Sound quality
Features
Battery
Connectivity
Comfort
Sources and verification
Where the specifications come from
- Official product pageus.technics.com
- Datasheet or manualhelp.na.panasonic.com
Verification
- First published
- Specifications last checked
- Sheet completeness
- 32 of 36 specifications verified; the rest show as Unknown and are never estimated or scored
- Page type
- Product specification page — Compiled from the manufacturer’s published specifications and the cited sources; this is not a hands-on test.
- Basis
- Research-based: specifications and editorial text were compiled from the documents listed here and the manufacturer’s published data. We have not tested this unit ourselves; where independent measurements are mentioned they belong to the linked publication.
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The bottom line
The Technics EAH-AZ100 earns a VS Score of 68, above the median of the 97 headphones it is measured against (a score of 50 is level with that median).
- Who it’s for
- Someone on Android who moves between a phone, a work laptop and a tablet all day and wants hi-res Bluetooth from the phone when fewer devices are connected.
- Who should look elsewhere
- iPhone owners who lean on Apple's automatic switching between iPhone, iPad and Mac should look elsewhere: these pair over ordinary Bluetooth, and an iPhone never sends them LDAC.
- The trade-off that matters
- Getting the most from it means managing modes in the app, because LDAC, three-device pairing and LE Audio cannot all be on at once.
- The main alternative
- Sony WF-1000XM6: Sony's current flagship earbuds, the other LDAC option at this level for an Android phone.
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